The problems associated with dripping candles, complete burning and effective candle mounting are well recognized and there have been numerous attempts, over more than one hundred years, to provide both practical and aesthetically attractive solutions. There have also been numerous prior attempts to utilize the heat of the candle flame to vaporize fragrances, to perfume a room.
One type of a drip preventing candle holder is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 1,365,485 issued in 1921 to Guest and comprises a drip preventing and candle stabilizing cap member or follower having an annular shoulder portion for sitting on a shoulder of the candle to descend under gravity during consumption thereof and a central, wick receiving opening with a lip to contain melted wax and a cylindrical skirt depending from the annular portion; a stand having a base and an upstanding, socket-less candlestick with a candle supporting surface and receivable in sealing engagement within the cap during the last stages of consumption of the candle to reduce or prevent leakage of melted wax; and complementary cap guiding means on the cap member and base.
In the Guest patent, the candlestick is of constant width, substantially equal to the width of the candle and supporting surface and, preferably, the guiding means includes a cylindrical sleeve member upstanding from the base of the stand surrounding the candlestick in coaxial relation to provide therebetween a skirt receiving socket. The skirt is of greater axial length than the candle and is guided by sliding receipt in the socket during burning, ensuring even, vertical descent of the cap member. Furthermore, the lip is extended to provide a large bowl as necessary to contain the increased amount of wax melted as a result of the high thermal conductivity of the cap which is apparently metal.
However, that construction is relatively bulky and heavy, also requiring vent holes at an upper end for cooling the candle body and another set of holes at the edge of the socket extending into the bowl to drain back reliquified wax from the bowl at the final stage of burning adding to complexity and manufacturing cost. Removal of any wax leaking into the socket can be relatively time consuming and difficult.
In addition, as with another proposal taught by G.B patent 230,229 granted 1925 to Riley, in which a follower's skirt telescopically receives the candlestick, the candle body is concealed from view substantially completely throughout burning as the follower is made of metal.
Prior proposals to vaporize selected fragrances by utilizing the heat from a candle flame are taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,454 issued 1993 to Lee; U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,895 issued 1988 to Spector; U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,483 issued 1998 to Fullam; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,917 issued 1976 to Naz.
The patents to Lee, Spector and Fullam, teach that the liquid fragrance is contained in a bowl which is supported above the candle flame by a frame. However, the additional frameworks are relatively bulky and cumbersome, multipart constructions, which maintain the fragrance containing bowl at a constant vertical height and do not automatically adjust the height of the bowl to the changing height of the candle flame during consumption of the candle which can result in differential heating and correspondingly different rates of fragrance vaporization and distribution.
Other prior candle holders with cap members or followers, some of which are made of transparent glass are taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 84,103; 1,225,614; 1,350,461; 1,671,652; 2,503,236; 3,071,952; 3,767,910; 4,544,357; 4,566,055; 4,755,135; 5,057,005; U.S. Pat. No. design 288,722; U.K. patent application publication 2,067,739 and Japanese patent application publication 9161517.